Can I use my Three mobile abroad?

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Question

I have a contract with Three and I’m about to go on holiday. Can I use my phone while I’m there? How much will it cost me?

Gillian White via email

Our expert Kim says...

Well, the good news is that you can absolutely use your Three (www.three.co.uk) phone abroad,
almost anywhere in the world. Exactly how much it'll cost you - if
it even costs anything extra at all - depends on your destination
and what kind of plan you have. So, before going any further, pop
over to the Roaming Abroad page on Three's
website, enter your destination into their search bar, and see what
charges you can expect.

If you're going to a Three Feel At Home country…

Three offers a special 'Feel At Home' plan for travellers to a
bunch of destinations, including the whole of the EU.

What Feel At Home means is that you can use your phone in these
locations at no extra cost. All the usual call, text, and data
allowances that you have at home in the UK will apply
abroad.

If you're on a Pay Monthly Advanced contract, you
can use your calls, texts, and data within your standard limit -
and if you run out, there's the option to buy Add-ons to extend
them

If you're on a Pay Monthly Essential contract, you'll need to
buy an Add-on to roam abroad (outside of the EU)

If you're on Pay As
You Go, calls and texts will cost the same as back home, and
you can convert your credit into a data Add-on if you want to use
the internet

Feel At Home should kick in the moment you step off the plane.
You'll receive a text confirming you're in a Feel At Home zone, and
then another one confirming the standard roaming rates for that
country.

There are just a couple of limitations to watch out for:

The usual allowances on your contract apply, but if you go over
them, you'll be charged the usual roaming rates - up to 18.8p per
minute, 5.9p per text, and 10p per MB of data.

If part of your plan is unlimited, 'all you can
eat', or has a large allowance, it's capped abroad - 3000
minutes, 5000 texts, or 12GB of data. That's a pretty big amount
though, so you probably don't need to worry about exceeding the
limit.

070, 084, 087, 09, and 118 numbers are charged the normal
rate.

Tethering or Personal
Hotspot is not available abroad, even if it's in your plan or you
have a Personal Hotspot Add-on.

To see Feel At Home in action, why not check out the
#HolidaySpam tag on Instagram or Twitter?

If you're going elsewhere…

You can still use your Three phone outside of the Feel At Home
zone - again, check Three's website to see if your country is
covered and what your roaming rates will be. Then you just need to
activate roaming: make sure your device is compatible and roaming
is switched on, and log onto your Three account to check it's
activated there too.

Tips for using your Three phone abroad

When you're calling or texting the UK from abroad, remember to
replace the 0 at the start of the number with +44.

Check your device and account before you leave! Go on Three's
website or log onto your My3 account to make sure roaming is
available, and see what the charges will be for where you're
headed.

Remember to switch off mobile data if you don't have Feel At
Home or an Internet Pass - apps might still be running in the
background and using data, which you may get charged for.

Outside of Feel At Home countries, using the internet abroad
can work out better value than making lots of texts and calls (e.g.
with an Internet Pass or by connecting to your hotel's Wi-Fi) - why
not make the most of it by downloading apps like Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, or Skype to use instead?

Watch out for airline and maritime networks (like on a plane or
cruise ship) - they don't count under Feel At Home, regardless of
where you are, and you'll be charged roaming rates.

Watch out near country borders too - you could accidentally
connect to the wrong country and get charged more expensive
rates.

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